The Online Shopping Thread

This is a discussion on The Online Shopping Thread within Gadgets, Computers & Software, part of the Shifting gears category; Recently got a 32 GB data card from FlipKart. As usual, the packing was very good.
Yes, I will buy ...

However, the order confirmation mail received from Saholic did not mention the free Curve 8520. I grew suspicious and immediately sent an email to Saholic customer care (help@saholic.com) along with the screenshots.

Within an hour I got a call from Saholic customer care from a guy called Suraj. He said there was a technical error in their website today and the above mentioned offer did not exist anymore. Apparently, this offer was running a few days back but at a price of Rs 31,990. At the same time BlackBerry recently slashed prices of the Playbook but Saholic did not update their deal accordingly. So it was a serious error on Saholic's part. Suraj apologized and wanted to compensate me for their mistake. He said he will discuss with his seniors and get back.

At around 3 pm, I got a call from someone called Chaitanya from Saholic. He too admitted to the technical error and said they wont be able to ship the Curve 8520. So they will just be sending the Playbook. He wanted to compensate for this mistake by offering me a *measly* Rs 500 coupon on a future purchase.

Of course I refused this bait. The only reason I purchased the Playbook from Saholic was because of the above offer! Moreover, Chaitanya had the audacity to tell me that if I do not accept his deal, they will simply cancel my order.

Of course I got furious because this tablet was bought as a gift for someone and now this has put me in an embarassing situation. Still, I told him that I'm ready to accept the cancellation IF AND ONLY IF the amount is credited back to my card within today. In this case, atleast I can buy from some other website or a physical store at 15-15.5k (The Playbook offer is valid only till Dec 31st).

Also, as an alternative, I told him to give me a cashback for Rs 500 instead of store-credit-on-future-purchase. He told me that will not be possible. Chaitanya promised to call me back by evening with a firm resolution to the problem, but that still has not happened.

Can someone help me out here? I really want the Playbook at that price as it is a gift. Is there any senior official of Saholic to whom I can talk/write to? What is my respite here?

Hey don't take my post in the wrong way but still:
1. You must be seriously joking to believe that they will give you a free BB curve with the Playbook. its very evident that its a technical error on there part and I am sure you had atleast a feeling that this is indeed the case. A playbook at 15k with a free curve is as good as saying that BB gave it free of cost to you.
2. Knowing this you made the purchase. They called you back promptly and I would say the customer service has been good till now in terms of being in touch with you.
3. The offer of Rs 500 does sound a good one and I am not sure if the customer care guy has any authority to make it a cash discount. The company must be having a policy against such things. Anyways I agree that they could have been a little considerate here and given you a 500 Rs discount since it was there mistake.
4. No business enterprise will be able to return your payment within a day. Thats being unreasonable. Even when your own bank's atm makes a faulty payment transaction they take around 10 days to credit it back.

All in all I would suggest that since you bought the playbook because at 15k it is indeed a steal, then go ahead with the decision and buy it from the above website only. You can once again push for that cash discount or otherwise use the free coupon later.
I don't see any point in getting worked up, spoiling your own mood over this and buying the playbook from some other store. So go ahead with your purchase.

Hey don't take my post in the wrong way but still:
1. You must be seriously joking to believe that they will give you a free BB curve with the Playbook. its very evident that its a technical error on there part and I am sure you had atleast a feeling that this is indeed the case. A playbook at 15k with a free curve is as good as saying that BB gave it free of cost to you.
2. Knowing this you made the purchase. They called you back promptly and I would say the customer service has been good till now in terms of being in touch with you.
3. The offer of Rs 500 does sound a good one and I am not sure if the customer care guy has any authority to make it a cash discount. The company must be having a policy against such things. Anyways I agree that they could have been a little considerate here and given you a 500 Rs discount since it was there mistake.
4. No business enterprise will be able to return your payment within a day. Thats being unreasonable. Even when your own bank's atm makes a faulty payment transaction they take around 10 days to credit it back.

All in all I would suggest that since you bought the playbook because at 15k it is indeed a steal, then go ahead with the decision and buy it from the above website only. You can once again push for that cash discount or otherwise use the free coupon later.
I don't see any point in getting worked up, spoiling your own mood over this and buying the playbook from some other store. So go ahead with your purchase.

@drmohitg - To be frank, for a second, I thought these guys have left over stocks from the old deal and got to get rid of the same (they cannot sell the 8520 indvidually).

Yes, I also did suspect this was a glitch but still went ahead with the purchase simply because that was the best possible price. More than an issue to be worked up about, I want it to be resolved peacefully.

Call from the CC was a prompt move, no doubt. But the way CC Manager spoke was not correct. BTW Im still waiting for him to revert on the cashback / status update on my order. There has been a glitch and the manager could atleast admit to resolving it amicably rather than (literally) warning me that he will cancel the order and I'll be left with no choice whatsoever.

Moreover, discount coupons/store credit are a thing of the past now. These days, there are sites and forums by the dozen and no one really waits to receive coupons by email. I was trying to explain this point to the Manager.

I want the Playbook at that price (more so since it is a gift) and I'm not looking to make any noise/profit out of it. But such mistakes by reputed portal should be avoided, and that's the point I was trying to drive home.

My asking for refund within 24 hours is simply because I HAVE to buy it before Dec 31 to get it at that price. I dont want my funds to be blocked up by someone else's fault. And honestly, I do not have 15k lying around just to make multiple random purchases. I need clarity!

My asking for refund within 24 hours is simply because I HAVE to buy it before Dec 31 to get it at that price. I dont want my funds to be blocked up by someone else's fault. And honestly, I do not have 15k lying around just to make multiple random purchases. I need clarity!

I agree with you on that. But since now you have committed yourself to this deal and very well know that they would not credit your payment back in 24 hours. Infact is it even possible with our current banking system and regulations?

So go ahead with the deal and in Future may be avoid them for any further purchases that you make. Also you can write a strong worded mail conveying your displeasure.

Offtopic: Is the playbook going to be sold anymore from Jan 1? My local friendly neighborhood Cell phone store owner ( he is a family friend) told me today not to buy it as its being discontinued. I was myself interested in the 32 GB version.

I agree with you on that. But since now you have committed yourself to this deal and very well know that they would not credit your payment back in 24 hours. Infact is it even possible with our current banking system and regulations?

So go ahead with the deal and in Future may be avoid them for any further purchases that you make. Also you can write a strong worded mail conveying your displeasure.

Offtopic: Is the playbook going to be sold anymore from Jan 1? My local friendly neighborhood Cell phone store owner ( he is a family friend) told me today not to buy it as its being discontinued. I was myself interested in the 32 GB version.

Yes, waiting for the revert till noon tomorrow. Lets see what they do to sweeten the deal.

I checked with Vijay Sales today and the sale person mentioned that there is a huge inventory pile up of Playbook and hence the price reduction.

I missed out the HP TouchPad WebOS tablet when prices were slashed to $99/149 and I regretted it. Hence I did not want to miss out on the Playbook deal now. I dont care if it is going to be discontinued. At 15k price, it is indeed a fabulous product to have. With OS 2 around the corner, expect a lot of improvements, including the ability to run Android apps.

Most reputed e-retailers dont charge the card right away. they just get an authorization from the CC issuer. They only charge (claim that amount) when they actually ship the item. If that's the case then they wont be able to refund you as they have not received any money from you yet. Even if they void the authorization manually the CC issuer will take at-least a week before it reflect in your statement.

Well, things have taken a turn for good here. I just got a call from Saholic (Chaitanya) and he offered me a Panasonic headset (IEM I presume) as a freebie to sweeten the deal. I know in terms of value, this probably wont be too high but then it's anyday better than coupon for me. I guess my post on their Facebook wall was taken notice of.

So all's well that ends well! I'm now looking forward to receiving my Playbook (my first tablet!).

I happened to find this online seller during my search for a mobile phone battery. The site itself looks pretty ok, although I've never heard about them before. Also there isn't much literatire about them on the internet, hence the question.